INTERVIEW WITH Wild YOUTH
PAUL It must’ve been really nice to know that your country voted for you to go and do Eurovision, it’s not just that a panel made a decision. Your country went behind you and said, these are the people we want? That must be nice? WILD YOUTH Yeah, of course. Yeah, it means a lot to us. But yeah, when it’s done on a public road, it’s always a nice boost of confidence or reassurance. And there’s some people in the country who want you to go around present. PAUL What is the Eurovision experience like though? Are you completely wrapped up in the experience, being inside the Eurovision bubble? WILD YOUTH Yeah, it’s very unique. All in all, it was an incredible experience. We absolutely loved it. You know, we got to make friends and memories. There’s a band coming over today that we’re playing a show with tonight called Joker Out on the Eurovision and we’re doing shows together in Dublin. So we’ve made friends for life, and we enjoyed the experience. We got to travel, so many incredible cities and meet so many people. And then also, even though we didn’t get through to the final, which, of course, was upsetting for us, because we just really wanted to. So we were sad that we couldn’t do that. But all in all, it was an incredible experience. PAUL We’ve had some amazing people like Brooke Scullion go to Eurovision last year, she absolutely smashed it she came home as the nation’s sweetheart, you’ve done a very similar job where you went out there, you did the absolute best, you did an amazing job and you’ve come home even bigger in the hearts of Ireland. What do we need to change about our Eurovision efforts? WILD YOUTH You know, it’s just kind of simple things along the way. It’s like when you see some other countries, the preparation, everything that goes into what you have to do and what you’re about to do. Obviously we didn’t get through with our song this year, but I think it just takes one incredible song. I don’t think anything is beyond the realm of possibility and Ireland has so much incredible talent. PAUL You found yourself in a media storm during your Eurovision journey with your Creative Director Ian Banham and some incidents with his online presence and in your statement you said your song We Are One, stands for unity and kindness and this song represents your beliefs as a band. How important is this message in today’s society and climate? WILD YOUTH I think it’s so important. And it’s something that we genuinely stand for as a band. Everyone should be accepted. And, you know, kindness always wins. And I think we really need to speak about it more. And you know, it’s such an important message. And that’s why the song was important for us. Albeit some people could say the sound was generic, but sometimes you need to simplify the message so the masses can hear it. Yeah, because they’re obviously not hearing it right now.
PAUL Are you conscious that what you say and the messages you portray with socials, your songs and beyond is taken into account by so many fans? WILD YOUTH Yeah, of course. And I just think in general, you have to just be so careful all the time, which sometimes can be frustrating because sometimes you do want to speak about things that you really care about but or you do want to kind of go back on certain things, but you know, it’s probably not always smart. I’ve learned to just delete Twitter. PAUL So, I’ve been told that Cork Pride is your very first Pride celebration you’ve performed at? Are you ready for the absolute craziness that it is and just to be adored by members of the LGBTQIA community? WILD YOUTH We are so excited. Obviously, we’ve heard incredible things about Pride festivals across the country. But we actually were talking about it yesterday we’re such big fans of Cork and Cork was the first place we ever played a sold out headline show. So to be doing the Cork Pride festival we’re incredibly excited. We hear wild things. We actually met
By Paul Ryder
They’ve only just descended from the bright lights, camp queendom and utter craziness of Eurovision 2023 but not without their fair share of trials, tribulations and moose knuckles. Conor, Alan, David and Callum of Wild Youth are joining the party of Cork Pride this year as our headline act. Our main stage host Paul Ryder grabbed a quick five minutes with the lads for a debrief of Eurovision and their expectations of the Party in the Port. PAUL So lads, let’s get straight to your Eurovision. How does an opportunity like that appear on your laps? WILD YOUTH It came from a tweet actually. In 2020, I tweeted just saying we want to do the Eurovision and it kind of just gained legs. And you know, we’ve always been big fans of Eurovision and I think after COVID and everything, we just wanted to take some more risks and try some things. So the opportunity kind of came up and we’d written this song and we just sent it in and luckily enough we got through to Eurosong on The Late Late Show and then we won that.
some of the organisers in Cork and they were like, “Just be prepared!” and we’re like “We’re scared!” PAUL ..and they’re just talking about me. C’mere, what can we expect from a Wild Youth gig? WILD YOUTH Moose knuckles and gold jumpsuits. (LAUGHS) PAUL The whole country just said ‘THANK YOU”, but I do love that you can laugh about it? WILD YOUTH Of course, you have to laugh about these things. PAUL We’re marking the 30th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland. How do you think Ireland has changed since? WILD YOUTH If you think about that, what you just said is that it was literally illegal to be gay in Ireland. This extreme change and I feel how open and accepting the city is, or Ireland as a country is. It’s unbelievable to see, obviously it’s not totally where it should be. People should feel free to really flourish and be who they feel comfortable being. PAUL Amazing, we cannot wait to show you a proper Cork Pride welcome in August.
I DON’T THINK ANYTHING IS BEYOND THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY AND IRELAND HAS SO MUCH INCREDIBLE TALENT.
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